Religion in the USA

Question 1

silly stats about religion in US

Answer 1

• 9/10 Americans say they never doubted the existence of God
• 8/10 Americans believe they will be called before God on Judgement Day to answer for their sins
• 8/10 Americans believe God still works miracles
• 7/10 Americans believe in life after death
• 44% believe in the biblical account of creation
• 50% believe in angels
• 37% believe in a personal devil (i dare to say mine is Ježek or Hardy)

Question 2

why? religion considered

Answer 2

• Founding and Settlement Patterns
• Separation of Church and State
• Revivalism and Evangelicalism
• Fonrtier Culture
• Religious Pluralism
• Socioeconomic Factors
• Cultural Individualism

Question 3

political factors tied with religion

Answer 3

• Abolition of slavery
• Civil rights
• Prohibition
• Opposition to communism
• Culture wars over abortion
• LGBTQ+ rights

Question 4

religion in the present

Answer 4

• Importance in/for the Community
• Congregationalism
• Populism
• Pragmatism
• Fluctuation of believers (30%)
• Separation of Church and State
• Frequently segregated

Question 5

Otakar Machotka: Amerika (1947)

Answer 5

• Religion in the United States is:
• Not detached from life
• Fluctuation of believers, competition
• “Business methods” to attract people
• Sermons are geared to practical life
• Aggresive atheism is nonexistent

Question 6

The Great Seal

Answer 6

• “IN GOD WE TRUST” is on this currency
• The Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means “God has favored our undertaking”
• The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means “a new order has begun”
• At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776

Question 7

Religion in US history

Answer 7

• pluralism, diversity
• important personalities of Colonial America:
  -> William Bradford (Plymouth Plantation)
  -> John Winthrop (“City Upon a Hill” guy)
  -> Cotton Mather (Magnalia Christi Americana)
  -> Joanthan Edwards (“The Pope of the Connecticut Valley”)

Question 8

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

Answer 8

• Carter won election as a Democrat to the Georgia State Senate in 1962 and was reelected in 1964. In 1966 he failed in a bid for the governorship and, depressed by this experience, found solace in evangelical Christianity, becoming a born-again Baptist

Question 9

G. W. Bush (2001-2009)

Answer 9

• “Operation Enduring Crusade”
• “Operation Infinite Justice” later changed to “Operation Enduring Freedom”

Question 10

Religion in the “Conflict of Cultures”

Answer 10

• The coming of the “secularists” or “moderns” –humanistic, respect for autonomy and freedom;
• Realignment: the major rift is no longer born out of theological or doctrinal disagreements –Protestants vs. Catholics, Christians vs. Jews;
• Disagreements now are over the sources of moral truth. Major disagreements thus are between the progressives and the religious conservatives

Question 11

The Main Issues of the Conflict

Answer 11

• Evolution
• Abortions
• Sex
• LGBTQ rights
• Stem-cell research
• The origin and veracity of the bible

Question 12

The Scopes Trial

Answer 12

• 1925
  -> “In today’s Alabama some high school textbooks state: “Evolution is a controversial theory some scientists present as scientific explanation for the origin of living things… No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life’s origins should be considered theory, not fact.”

Question 13

Billy Graham

Answer 13

• From the 1930s until the early years of this century, Graham drew crowds of thousands to hear his rallying cry for Christianity
• Over almost six decades, it is estimated that he preached to more than 200 million people